9 In 10 Kids With Autism Bullied At School

By Shaun Heasley

November 13, 2009

Nine in 10
Massachusetts parents of kids with autism say their child has been a
victim of bullying at school, a new survey finds. In over half of the
cases, the bullying included being hit, kicked or chased.

The results come from an online survey
conducted by Massachusetts Advocates for Children of nearly 400 parents
of children with autism across the state. Findings indicate that 88
percent of children with autism have been bullied at school ranging
from verbal abuse to physical contact.

Though widespread, parents indicated that schools were doing too
little to address the bullying. Just one in five parents said they
learned about the bullying their child experienced from the school.
And, in two out of three cases, the bullying lasted for several months
with most parents saying their child’s school didn’t do enough to
respond.

“Children with autism spectrum disorder are especially vulnerable
targets because of the nature of their disability,” says Julia Landau,
senior autism center director at Massachusetts Advocates for Children.
“Children on the spectrum are often viewed as atypical or different by
their peers, and are generally unable to understand bullying incidents
and protect themselves like other students due to the nature of ASD,
which impacts communication, social and behavioral skills.”

A bill being considered in the Massachusetts legislature would
address this problem by requiring individualized education plan (IEP)
teams to address bullying faced by students with autism.